Love Me Like No Other (14 page)

“Let me help you,” he said as he lifted a foot and began to massage. “You know you’re not the only one who can give a massage.”

He was correct. His fingers were working some mean magic on her feet, sending twinges up and down her legs. Tilting her head back she marveled
in the feeling. “Mmm. You keep this up and I might offer you a job.”

He chuckled. “No thanks. I reserve this treatment for special people.”

Her head snapped up and she glared at him. “Am I to assume I’m special?”

Linc looked at her seriously. “There’s no assumption to be made. You are very special to me, Jade.” Letting her foot slip back to the floor he slid his hands up her leg to rest on her thigh.

She shook her head. “Lincoln, don’t.” She couldn’t take another minute of his sweetness. He’d driven her mad with it all day and if he continued she didn’t know that she’d have the strength to stop him and she so desperately needed to stop him.

With his free hand he brought a finger to her lips. “Shh. I don’t want you to say another word.” His gaze fell to her mouth as his finger moved slowly over her bottom lip. “It’s been an extremely long day.”

She gasped, her lips parting slowly. He slipped his finger inside and she impulsively sucked.

He closed his eyes, let out a whoosh of air then said, “A really long day.”

She moved back, dislodging his finger from her mouth. “Yes,” she whispered.

“I want you to relax.” He spoke quietly, his
hand now cupping her cheek. “I’m going to take good care of you. Trust me.”

She trusted that with each touch from him her body temperature would continue to rise. She also trusted that she had the option to make an informed choice when or if the time arose. He pushed her back on the bed, settling her on the pillows. They hadn’t turned on the lights when they’d come in so they were illuminated only by slivers of moonlight coming through the partially opened drapes.

“I’m going to touch you, Jade.” He began by unbuttoning her pants, pulling them along with her panties down her legs. “I’m going to touch you a lot.”

His gaze, bold and filled with desire raked over her continuously. She sucked in a breath, felt the twinges of nervousness snaking up her spine. Cool air hit her legs and before she could speak he was working her blouse over her head. She now lay totally nude before him and while she was in no way ashamed of her body she was a little uncomfortable with the way he stared down at her.

“I told you. Perfect.” He sighed then ran a fingertip around the darkened area of her breast.

He circled and circled until her nipple hardened sharply. Bending down he ran his tongue over the distended crest and felt her tremble beneath him.
Pulling away he repeated the combination with the other breast all the while keeping an eye on her, watching her every reaction.

His finger made a scorching line down her torso stopping at her navel, where he bent and showered her with tongue attention. She shifted slightly and he smiled against her.

Desire ran through her with an urgency that threatened to shatter her. Never had she felt so wanted, so cherished. Never had she needed so honestly, so completely. He touched her gently yet she knew he was using every ounce of control he possessed to do so. He’d told her to trust him and she’d decided to do just that. Wherever he was taking them, tonight and just for tonight, she’d go. And go willingly.

Linc’s touch was masterful, caressing then gripping with the urgency he contained. He was greedy and hungry, this she knew, yet he was restraining his own needs to cater to hers, to take what she silently offered.

Jade simply flowed with him, with his touch, his caresses. He’d instructed her to relax but then he continued to touch her until she was taut with need. He was massaging her thighs now, his thumbs just tickling the insides, barely missing the nest of dark curls at her center. Her breathing stalled then restarted as he pushed her thighs
apart, traced a finger lazily down the center of her opening.

“Linc,” she whispered.

“Let me love you, baby,” he spoke just before lowering his head.

Jade spread her legs wider, gripped the back of his head and blessedly acquiesced. His tongue moved slowly, sinuously, from her top to her bottom, soliciting from her deep moans of satisfaction. With his thumbs he spread her lips then flattened his tongue and lathed her thoroughly.

She squirmed and bucked, gripping the sheets beneath her to keep from screaming. If she died this very moment she’d go happily. Sensations twirled through her while her essence seeped out. With the pad of his thumb pressed lightly against the bud of her flower Linc proceeded to work his magnificent tongue over her opening until she thought she just simply couldn’t take it another moment.

“Linc, please?” she whimpered.

She wanted this man, all of him, in any way she could have him. If it were just for tonight then so be it, she’d deal with her broken heart next week. But for right now, for this one moment she wanted, no, needed him deeply inside of her and if that wasn’t an informative decision then brand her a fool. But by the end of tonight she’d be a well-satisfied fool.

L
inc accepted her agreement in the way her hands gripped his head tightly, the way her thighs clenched and retracted with his ministrations and the way she fed him like a wanton sure of her power. He acknowledged her participation and thanked her lavishly with each stroke and lick.

She dulled his senses, captured him so completely like no other woman had ever done before. Moving his lips over her soft flesh he relished in each of her convulsions. She held his head firmly daring him to move and he smiled inwardly. He had her just where he wanted her.

Jade closed her eyes not realizing that made the sensations all the more potent and soul shattering. What was he doing to her? It wasn’t simply pleasure. No, this was well beyond that. She practically floated, dangled helplessly as he manipulated her. That, she realized the moment she felt herself slipping closer to the edge, was his intention. He wanted her helpless, defenseless to his onslaught. He wanted to control her.

She wanted to protest but he continued to suck, to lap, to lick, to stroke her into submission, in that mindless swirl of contentment she hadn’t known existed until now. Her head thrashed about the pillows as she rose toward the precipice of completion.

Linc felt her soaring—she knew it because he lifted her hips, propped her up so that he had more access, more control over this sweet torture he’d instigated. He devoured her, feasting on her offering as if he’d been unjustly starved.

She moaned. It didn’t seem to be enough. She sighed and panted. Still the release did not come. “Linc,” she whimpered his name. He thrust his hot tongue inside of her and she fell.

Down that dark bottomless spiral that had sucked her in from the moment he’d first laid his hands on her. Falling and falling, that sense of
weightlessness and completion that engulfed you body and soul. She called his name until her lips wouldn’t move any longer. Then and only then did he release his hold on her to slide sinuously up her body.

“Ask me to kiss you, Jade,” he demanded.

She heard his voice, heard his command and knew her response even before her lips parted. “Kiss me, Linc.”

The night began and ended with his mouth on her, first at her center and then on her lips. But that was as far as he went.

To her surprise Linc hadn’t entered her. He hadn’t found his own pleasure. He hadn’t even tried.

Still, Jade lay naked, sated and completely exhausted, her head nestled in the crook of Linc’s arm. She sighed and he shifted.

“You finally awake, sleepyhead?” He kissed the top of her head.

“Mmm. Yes, I’m awake.”

“Good, because I didn’t want to be accused of leaving you again but I do have some business to tend to.”

She shifted and propped herself up on her elbow. “Is it the same business that took you back to Vegas?”

“Yes.” He looked as if he wanted to say something else but refrained.

“You could have gone. I would have understood,” she said sincerely. She understood a lot about Lincoln Donovan now.

He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “The truth is I wasn’t ready to leave you just yet.”

“Oh?” They were silent for a moment and then she remembered something she’d meant to do yesterday. “Thank you.”

He looked at her questioningly. “For?”

“For sending my sister to keep me company. I really needed that. And it was very thoughtful of you to do it.”

“I knew you needed something. I figured since it wasn’t me, it would definitely be her. And it gave me a chance to meet her.”

“So what did you think?”

Linc chuckled. “I think you two are as different as night and day. I also think she loves you very much and that she’ll be just fine when you cut the apron strings.”

“Just how long did you two talk and what exactly did you talk about?”

“That’s between Noelle and me. I’ll just say that we now have an understanding about her gambling habits.”

“I sure do hope so. I can’t afford to make these types of deals with every casino owner in Vegas.”

“You’d better not make these types of deals with every casino owner in Vegas,” Linc warned.

She laughed then. A happy laugh that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to share with him again.

He kissed her forehead and then moved to her lips. “I’m not laughing, Jade.”

And after another moment, neither was she.

Hours later, Linc sat on the couch in the suite, a pile of mail right beside him. Jade watched him methodically go through one piece at a time. She’d finished dressing and wanted to go riding one last time.

She’d be leaving the Donovan estate first thing tomorrow morning. Noelle would no longer owe him five thousand dollars. Those were the terms of their agreement and she planned to abide by them.

But she didn’t want to think of that right now.

Right now she was content with the memories of last night, of Linc’s tenderness. He’d held her close, loved her just right and kissed her with the sweetness of a man who cared about a woman.

“How long is that going to take?” she asked, nodding toward the stack of mail.

“About an hour,” he said glancing up at her. “If I go through it all.”

She smiled, happy for this time alone with him. “And are you going through it all?”

He shook his head. “Not if you have something more appealing for me to do.”

“How about riding?”

He stood then moved toward her. Slipping his arms around her waist he pulled her close. “I want to be wherever you are,” he said, dropping a kiss on her neck then nuzzling.

Jade relished this feeling. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“So you still don’t know anything about her past?”

“For Pete’s sake, Trent. Give it a rest,” Adam bellowed.

Linc sighed. “For once I agree with Adam.”

Trent moved to the bar to fix himself a drink. “She’s got the both of you snowed. My gut instinct says she’s hiding something.”

“That’s gas,” Adam quipped.

Trent tossed him an impatient glance. “That’s five years of Navy Seal duties, investigating the enemy.”

“She’s not a spy or a traitor for that matter,” Linc offered.

He and Jade had returned from their ride about an hour ago and she was now getting some much
needed rest. Looking around the den he could have kicked himself for not joining her.

“No. She’s an attractive woman who’s gotten under your skin.”

“Has she really?” Adam’s eyes shifted to Linc. “Has my big brother fallen in love?”

Linc ignored them both.

The look Trent gave him said that wasn’t the response he was looking for.

“She’s a wonderful woman. A man would be hard-pressed to find better,” he stated seriously.

“If it’s getting serious maybe you should check her out, Linc,” Adam added.

Linc shot him a testy glare. “I thought you were on my side.”

“I am, but we all know how women are, especially with guys like us. Hell, you’re the one who educated me.”

Linc ran a hand over his face. Upstairs on his desk was an envelope. In it was something he hoped would put him and Jade on an even keel. That was all he was concerning himself with tonight. His brothers’ words were not fazing him at all.

Jade stepped out of the limousine in front of Chase Country Club, a gorgeous structure complete with gleaming white pillars and floor-to-
ceiling windows. Twinkle lights illuminated the outside walkway giving the distinctive feeling of Christmas in the summertime. She inhaled deeply and willed the butterflies that seemed to have taken up permanent residence in her stomach to cease. She wasn’t nervous, she told herself repeatedly. There was no need to be. She’d been with Linc all week long and with his family. Truth be told she felt like she belonged with them more than she did in her tiny apartment.

But this was her last night. She felt like Cinderella when she glanced down at her watch. She was right on time. Linc and his brothers had come earlier to make sure that everything was in place since this was the one event Beverly hadn’t planned herself. In a little over eleven hours she’d be on her way back to Vegas, back to the life she believed she wanted for herself.

That hadn’t really changed much. Her spa was still a top priority. It was the other, the happily ever after, that she’d be pushing aside yet again. At least this time it was of her own doing. She decided the outcome to this episode. She wanted a man to love her and Linc was incapable of that. Case closed.

Although thoughts of her and Linc building a life together had run rampant through her mind since waking up this morning, she was determined
not to let them interfere. A one-sided relationship was doomed to fail. Besides, the last thing in the world he’d want is to be with her after he found out what she’d done. She’d decided earlier that she had to tell him tonight. She owed him that much and her conscience would never leave her alone if she didn’t.

A bellboy dressed in a crisp white uniform opened the door for her and directed her to the lobby. Walking confidently in three-inch heels Jade stopped when she stood in the middle of a champagne-colored marble floor, stark white pillars stretching from ceiling to floor in regal elegance as tropical plants littered the room. The concierge questioned where she was headed before smiling and pointing her toward the ballroom.

Her heels clicked against the polished floors as she made her way to the entrance of the infamous ballroom. Candles burned and chandeliers above lit the room so that it sparkled with elegant festivity. Waiters in black slacks and white jackets moved from table to table making sure everything was set perfectly while kitchen staff carefully organized the table of hors d’oeuvres amidst a giant ice sculpture in the shape of two Mustangs. Jade smiled as she remembered the Donovans’ fondness of horses.

She would miss them, she thought sadly.
Beverly had been the mother figure Jade had always longed for, while Henry, in his carefree manner, had welcomed her with open arms. Her chest tightened and she willed herself not to cry. It wasn’t meant to be. She’d known that this was just a job and that it was only supposed to last a week. She should have been prepared for the end.

But she wasn’t and the end was inevitable.

That’s how Linc found her. Her lithe frame draped in a shimmering silver material that molded against the curving contours of her body, standing on heels that were surely designed to torture a man. His eyes slowly drifted from the hem of the shining material up the enticing path of her small ankles to shapely calves and a shocking amount of muscled thigh. His breath hitched and he moved instinctively toward her.

Her thick ebony hair was pulled away from her face in a sweep of curls that cascaded down her otherwise bare back. The dress dipped dangerously low in the back, so low that the shadow of her hair cleverly masked the initial indentation of her bottom. Linc licked his suddenly dry lips and searched for a waiter to bring him a drink. She moved, angling her head to study something on the ice sculpture. The curve of her neck was exposed and smooth skin glistened beneath the many lights. All the blood drained from his head,
quickly moving south, as he clearly remembered dragging his tongue slowly down the long angle beginning at the tips of her tiny ears and ending with lavish circles around her bare shoulder. His hands fisted and clenched at his sides as he noticed other men in the room admiring her.

It was inevitable that she’d be admired. She was beautiful. But she was his. His? He’d been considering all day what that meant since the thought had cemented itself in his mind. She was supposed to leave tomorrow morning but he had no intention of letting that happen.

Coming up behind her he bent his head until his nose was tickled by wisps of her hair. He inhaled deeply the sweet smell of lavender invading his senses inciting prickly spikes at the base of his neck. Like a moth to a flame his finger found that small spot just beneath her ear, the one that had caught his attention from across the room, and traced a long, slow line down her neck, ending on her shoulder where it made delicate circles over the soft skin.

Jade hissed. She’d felt his approach, heat rising from the center of her belly to her now throbbing breasts. She’d anticipated his touch, longed for it, embraced it. He was hers. In her mind he would always be hers.

She turned to face him, became enfolded in his
embrace and looked up into his eyes. Those dark eyes that held all his secrets. She’d watched them change and shift with his moods, deciding finally that she liked them all because they made him the man that he was. The man she loved.

But he didn’t love her. No. She slapped that thought aside. She would not think of that now, not tonight. His strong jaw was set and his lips parted slightly. Dressed in a tuxedo he looked dark, dangerous and oh, so delicious! “Mr. Donovan, I’m reporting for duty,” she said a bit too airily.

As it was whenever he was close to her his senses dulled, his mind emptying of all sane thought. She had applied makeup tonight; vibrant slashes of blue and silver glittered over her eyes making them dance and sparkle in the lighted room, enhancing her natural beauty. Her nose was narrow with a sharp tip but her mouth looked soft coated with a light lipstick and damned kissable right at this moment.

“You’re punctual. I like that.” His voice was deep but gentle as his eyes held hers. Something powerful slammed into his gut, an emotion he couldn’t describe.

“That’s just one of my traits worth boasting. Now, what would you like me to do?” To her own
ears the question sounded way too suggestive. She hoped he’d heard it differently.

His eyes darkened, his lids closing so that they were barely visible, and he moved closer to her so that the tips of her breasts brushed against his solid chest. Obviously, he’d heard her and deciphered the meaning.

“I mean, I’m not real clear on my job duties tonight. Should I just stay by your side?” To keep herself upright she flattened her hands against the lapels of his jacket. The walls seemed to close in around them and she felt as if she were suffocating.

“It’s simple.” His hands slipped inside the opening at her back. “You stay right beside me looking absolutely scrumptious. Which, by the way, you do very well. We’ll have dinner, dance a little and then at the stroke of midnight run like bats out of hell to the car where Mario has already been instructed to burn rubber getting us home.”